Counterfeit Stores Are Not New, Remember Fake Balmain Store in Dubai!

In the midst of the recent fake Apple Store in China, we have to remember that this is not a 'one off'.

We have, over the years, been made aware of this activity going on all over the world. We remind you of the fake Balmain Store, told by INDIA-JEWEL JACKSON  back in 2009 reproduced below.


"How does the saying go? “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is…”

I should have listened.

A couple of weeks ago, I made the 13-hour journey to the United Arab Emirates, a.k.a. shopper’s paradise. Virtually everyone has set up shop in the golden city of Dubai; YSL, Manolo Blahnik, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel—the entire fashion set is present and accounted for. And with the current state of the economy, it wasn’t uncommon to see storefronts peppered with signs that read “Sale!” “25% off!” “Buy One, Get One Half Price!”

Imagine my surprise when I ran across a standalone Balmain boutique at the base of my hotel. All kinds of thoughts of fashionable grandeur ran through my mind… Rihanna, Kate Moss, exaggerated shoulders, Beyonce, Cassie, crystal studded sandals, Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham, marching band ‘drum major’ vests… It was all too much to process. Balmain? In my size? On sale for 75% off?
I should have know something was fishy—who advertises a sale on neon poster-board?

Against my better judgment—lured by the thought of buying Balmain at Bebe prices—I bought two pairs of jeans and scurried upstairs to try them on with the YSL shoes I’d bought earlier that day. Since I’ve been on Weight Watchers, I’d actually unknowingly dropped a pant size, so my new fancy jeans were a bit too big. I scurried downstairs to make a quick exchange when I was told, “No. All Sales are Final.”

Slightly angry, but more confused, I decided to do a bit of investigative research. (A bit late, I might add.) First, I Goggled. No information on a Balmain store in Dubai. Then, I searched for legitimate store locations. No Balmain boutique south of Turkey. Finally, I called the flagship Balmain boutique in Paris. Definitely no Balmain store in Dubai.

I’d been duped.

Selling knockoff purses out of a warehouse in Chinatown is one thing, because if you’re shopping in Chinatown, you’re obviously looking for fakes. But setting up an entire store under the guise of a haute couture brand is another. They’d blatantly ripped off the current runway collection, the shopping bags, the price tags, even the logo was perfect. (How do these people sleep at night?)

Needless to say, I’ve returned to NYC with two pairs of fake denim that I can’t be bothered to wear, but can’t bear to get rid of. I guess I just think of them a reminder of why I hate fakes.

At the end of the day, I was the posterchild for ‘American greed.’ Ah, well. You live and you learn!" quote~India-Jewel Jackson.

This is just one of the countless stories we have had confirmed over the years, this poses a new threat for brand protection as the audacious grow bolder.

Counterfeit goods fund violent gang activity

 

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- LAPD investigations show that gangs are deep into the counterfeit goods business, enabling gang members to fund illegal activities.

It takes low risk but yields high reward.

"They're using every single penny of that to fund their criminal activity," explained an undercover police officer.

For Los Angeles street gangs, counterfeit goods make for big business.

"They're making more money selling pirated CDs and DVDs than they would selling narcotics," said LAPD Senior Lead Officer Randy McCain. "They make a lot of money and they make the money faster."

Investigators say it's important for people to understand that buying those cheap counterfeit purses, sunglasses or shoes is not a victimless crime.

"We've found it tied to murder, extortion, human trafficking, insurance fraud," listed Kris Buckner, a former L.A. County Sheriff's deputy. Buckner now trains law enforcement personnel on how to spot and investigate counterfeit goods.

"In the past couple of years, we've seen a huge surge in gang members, 18th Street, MS-13, 42nd Street Little Gangsters," said Buckner.

Why? It's all about economics.

"They're now trying to run their organizations like Fortune 500 companies. They need to raise revenue, but if they're out there shooting each other, doing drug sales, their potential to make higher revenues is actually lower," explained Buckner.

So every time you buy a fake Fendi or a knock-off Chanel, you could be putting cash in the pockets of some of L.A.'s most dangerous gangs, including the Mexican Mafia.

"What does the Mexican Mafia do with that money? Smuggles drugs into the prison system, kills people, all sorts of things," said Buckner.

Investigators say cutting off demand from shoppers will cut down on crime as a whole.

"They come here and sell DVDs for super cheap, make a lot of money to fund buying guns that could either take someone off the street or a fellow officer," explained LAPD Officer Matt Shafer.

An undercover LAPD officer who could not reveal his identity said that gang members also use the money from counterfeit goods to buy cars.

"Escalades, Lexus and Mercedes," lists the officer.

In one case, he testified against two Compton gangsters caught selling counterfeit Nike shoes.

"They are Compton Crips with extensive rap sheets, weapons charges, murder, attempted murder," described the undercover officer.

Also, it's not just a matter of safety. A 2005 study found that the sale of counterfeit goods cost L.A. County alone $483 million in lost tax revenue and 106,000 jobs. That's just for one year.

And it's not just bags and shoes.

"Airplane parts, brake pads, medicine, dog food," lists Buckner.

Shafer describes it as a "turf war" among rival gang members.

"One gang member or crew will be territorial over their turf, and if another comes over, fights ensue," Shafer said.

Home video seized from a Carnales gang member shows a gang initiation, but earlier on the tape, footage shows the gang members staking out a corner of a parking lot to sell their counterfeit DVDs.

"So basically what they're doing is, they're up here selling their DVDs and smoking marijuana and just acting like the little fools they are," said McCain.

In another incident, the LAPD set up a sting where an undercover officer rolled up to a gang-infested neighborhood with a car full of counterfeit cigarettes. The officer left the car door open with the music blaring. In less than a minute, a man jumped into the car and attempted to steal it. Unfortunately for him, the engine was cut off by police. One more gang member trying to profit off counterfeit goods was taken off the streets.

(Copyright ©2011 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

via Get more Los Angeles News »

Counterfeit Apple Stores surface in China - report

Chinese counterfeiters have a long history of cloning hardware from major tech manufacturers, but now they're going a step further by cloning entire stores.

A US blogger living in Kunming in Southwest China noticed what appeared to be an Apple store pop up in her town, complete with the store's trademark spacious, airy interior, blue-shirted staff, products to play with, and upstairs seating area.

Counterfeit Apple products are nothing new but evidence suggests that counterfeit Apple Stores are cropping up in parts of China. Photographs suggest that Apple brand is being abused.


The author of the Bird Abroad blog, an anonymous 27-year-old female living in Kunming, China, claims that she walked into one of the counterfeit stores recently, just a few blocks away from where she and her husband live.


Photographs on the blog entry show what looks like, to all intents and purposes, an Apple Store. The author was apparently stopped from photographing by shop staff and security guards. One photograph bears the legend 'Apple Stoer' above some Chinese characters.

"They looked like Apple products. It looked like an Apple store. It had the classic Apple store winding staircase and weird upstairs sitting area. The employees were even wearing those blue t-shirts with the chunky Apple name tags around their necks," the author writes.

"This was a total Apple store ripoff. A beautiful ripoff – a brilliant one – the best ripoff store we had ever seen (and we see them every day). But some things were just not right: the stairs were poorly made. The walls hadn’t been painted properly.

"The name tags around the necks of the friendly salespeople didn’t actually have names on them – just an Apple logo and the anonymous designation 'Staff'. And of course, Apple’s own website will tell you that they only have a few stores in Beijing and Shanghai, opened only recently," she continues.

The author also contends that in a ten-minute walk in the surrounding area, she and her husband found two more rip-off Apple Stores.

Ironically, Apple reported yesterday that China was key to the company's quarterly revenue of $28.57bn. "I firmly believe that we're just scratching the surface right now. I think there is incredible opportunity for Apple there," Cook said.

If the report on the Bird Abroad blog is true, then it seems that the clamour for Apple-branded products in China is perhaps even greater than Cook believes.

via macworld.co.uk